With the holidays quickly approaching, I thought it might be timely to talk about tips for traveling with kids. If you are like my family, you will most definitely be traveling to see family around the holidays and I think we all know that’s not always an easy feat. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have been able to travel around the world with my family and thought why not share some of the tips I’ve learned along the way?! Whether you are going on a small road trip or jet setting to another continent, I hope this blog can help parents out there feel more prepared and a little less stressed about their upcoming travel plans. Buckle up and enjoy!
Packing Tips – When packing, I truly believe less is more. Therefore, I try to limit the amount of extra stuff I bring. Anything that can be ordered to our final destination (extra diapers, snacks, formula, etc) I typically pack light on. I also limit the amount of toys and books we bring. For reading, I have kids books downloaded to our Kindle and usually gift 1 or 2 toys on our vacation anyways, so we always try to limit the toys we lug with us (if possible!). If you are staying for an extended period of time and have access to a washing machine you can reduce the amount of clothes you bring and a new packing tip of mine (which might not be for everyone) is to share water bottles. Instead of lugging around 3 water bottles with me at all times, I just bring one big Stanley cup water bottle and call it a day. Although I definitely know that this is not for everyone, this has been a big space (and back) saver for us.
Car seats are also a big question mark when traveling with kids on a plan. Do you take them OR do you not? They take up so much space, so if you don’t need them it is definitely a literal weight off of your shoulders to leave them at home. When making this decision, I often do a bit of research on the public transit situation, car seat laws, car seat rental options, etc. in the city you are visiting. In my experience, the only time I’ve not taken the car eats were in walkable cities outside of the US. If you have older kids and are only planning on taking one or 2 Uber rides to the airports, there are inflatable booster car seats that might be a great option for your family!
Extra clothes – depending how long your flight or car ride is, I’d suggest packing 1 to 2 extra easily accessible outfits for the kids and parents on your carryon or in the front of the car. You never know what kind of mess might happen and I find the worst kind of blowouts always happen on travel days. Also, airlines do lose luggage (trust me it happened to me after a 30 hour flight) so always just be a little extra prepared!
Flying (or driving) tips – If you are flying internationally with a child under 2 you can call the airline and get moved to a bulkhead seat (no extra charge in my experience) so that you have access to a bassinet. Even if you aren’t sure if your kid will fit in the bassinet, I personally think it is SO SO worth it. The extra leg room and just having somewhere to put the baby or a food plate, etc. for a couple of minutes was a true game changer for our family – especially if you are flying economy like us!
If you are traveling on a long haul flight, it might be worth looking into buying a travel bed. I bought one for my 3 year old and she slept 11 of a 13 hour long haul flight. We got a cheap one from amazon for like 30 bucks and it worked wonders! Be wary that some airlines don’t allow the beds so I’d definitely suggest saving your money on these beds to be on the safe side.
This might be another one of those tips that isn’t for everyone, but when our family travels (specifically flys) l have a rule that germs just don’t count AND screen time and food is a free for all. For our oldest – this makes flights probably her favorite activity of the year! Again this isn’t for everyone, BUT when I first traveled with my oldest daughter I was a nervous wreck trying to sanitize everything and not letting her crawl or touch anything. We of course still wash our hands and are cautious, but taking the pressure off of germs weirdly relaxes me so much – and surprisingly we have yet to get sick after flying. Screen time can occupy my 3 year old for hours and is truly the only time in life that she has no limit to screen time (which to me seems fair since everyone else is locked in to their devices). The biggest plus to this rule (or lack their of) is that it gives my husband and I a free hand to pass around the baby so one of us can try to relax and get some rest, especially if we are traveling internationally. We usually set a timer to ensure we both are doing our share because sometimes minutes can truly feel like hours.
If you are driving with a baby, taking breaks, timing your drive around sleep time, and having someone close to the baby to entertain has been the way we’ve managed through. I also LOVE to pop on some nursery rhymes/books on tape/or kids podcasts to keep the kids entertained. With the oldest I do usually allow more screen time than usual because I do think it is quite uncomfortable to sit in a car seat for longer that 3 hours so this our compromise and what works for our family!
Jet lag – If you are dealing with a time zone change, especially if it’s more than just a few hours. Jet lag is a very real thing. When we flew to Thailand this past summer, I was TERRIFIED of the jet lag with a baby. BUT I’m here to tell you we got through it (and so will you). With a time zone change as extreme as Texas to Asia, it did take about 4 to 5 days to adjust, but I think since my kids are still napping it was honestly easier on their bodies than ours. My biggest tip is to try your best to stick to your schedule on the way to your destination and once you arrive to your destination do your best to adjust to the new timezone and get plenty of sunlight and movement during the day to help your circadian rhythm. We took naps and just took it slow the first week and eventually we fully adjusted. Not to say there were never tears, because there were definitely tears, but it was all worth it! 
Where to stay? – If you aren’t staying with family, I’m assuming you are either staying in a hotel or Airbnb – both incredible options depending on your needs! Hotels will sometimes have child watch (huge plus!), babysitting services, cleaning services, and best of all free breakfast (or at least more accessible breakfast). While Airbnbs often provide more room and separation for sleep (especially helpful if staying with extended family), accessible washer and dryer units, and more storage for snacks and food! If you do go the Airbnb route and have younger kids, make sure you filter your search by Airbnbs that provide pack and plays if that’s important to you. I will say, having access to a washer and dryer with littles is a big changer, especially if you are staying for an extended amount of time or you just have messy kids like me.
Food – I’ve gotten this question quite a bit about what my kids eat when traveling – especially when we went to Thailand this past summer. The food is very different and as much as we try to eat Thai food in the states, I would be lying if I wasn’t a little worried about my 3 year olds eating habits. What I learned, is that kids will adapt to their environments and find their new favorite foods in the places they travel to. While mac and cheese wasn’t an option in Thailand – they did have her new favorite food, fried rice, almost everywhere we went and there wasn’t a single meal that we couldn’t find something for her to eat and enjoy. She even asked multiple times to try new things! So again, don’t sweat the little things – your kids will not starve themselves and are far more adaptable than I think we give them credit for. Kids live all over the world and I promise you there are picky eaters everywhere you go!
Don’t overbook – As someone with experience packing our itinerary to the brim in my single days, in my experience it’s not worth it to move from city to city unless you can stay for ATLEAST 3 nights with kids in tow. If you stay for any shorter amount of time you will be spending the majority of those 3 days getting settled in and packing and not being able to truly enjoy your stay. I also think it is important to manage your expectations. Kids get tired, hungry, home sick, etc., so there will most definitely be times when you might have to cut your afternoon or night short and that’s okay. And kids (no matter where you are in the world) have big feelings so give yourself some grace and remember you’ll probably never see the people around you ever again if your kid is having that melt down.
Additional Hacks – As mentioned above, order extra snacks, diapers, formula, etc. directly to where you are staying so you don’t have to lug a 24 pack of diapers on the car or plane. OR if where you are staying doesn’t have a way to order stuff directly to your destination use this as an excuse to go to the store once you arrive. Weirdly, I love shopping in grocery stores in different cities! 
If you are flying, hopefully you already know that you can bring a stroller on the flight (it does not count as a checked bag). Hide some extra diapers or a toy that you don’t care would get lost in the bottom of the stroller to save yourself some room in your luggage. Also, don’t forget to gate check your stroller so that you can stroll your kids around the airport rather than having to potentially carry them on top of the bags you are already holding.
If there is baby gear you don’t have room for in your luggage or car there are plenty of baby gear rental services in a variety of different cities around the world. Additionally, most rental car companies have car seats that you can rent with your car rental.
If you suspect a melt down might be near, have some candy or maybe some wrapped small gifts to bring out and redirect on the plane or car ride. On our last flight, I packed 5 or so little wrapped paw patrol action figures for our 3 year old and they were a for sure hit!
Bring extended family if you can! We brought my mom to Europe this fall and it was so nice to not only have an extra set of hands for the kids, but I’ll never forget the memories we made having 3 generations together (and I don’t think my kids will either).
Last tip is to get the kids involved! Have them pack some toys, snacks, etc. Let them pick out activities or parks to go to. Don’t make them go to museums all day every day (unless they love that kinda thing) – this is their vacation too!
Whether you are traveling for vacation or to see family, remember how lucky you are to be able to show your child the world and see the world through their eyes. Don’t forget to have fun, manage your expectations and if you are stressed out indulge in that extra glass of wine, a plate of pasta, and let the kiddos indulge a little bit too! Trust me, they will remember these moments!!!!
